recipes
high-solids potatoes
Sour Cream Fluff
Oven Toppers
Foil Baked
6 medium sized, high-solids potatoes
i cup commercial sour cream
Butter, salt and pepper
Paprika
Peel potatoes thinly. Cut in pieces and drop
in small quantity of salted, boiling water. Cover
and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20
minutes. Remove cover. If only a small amount
of water remains, do not drain potatoes. Mash
and add sour cream. Season with butter, salt
and pepper and whip until light and fluffy.
Spoon onto serving plate in fluffy mounds
and sprinkle lightly with paprika, or chopped
chives or parsley. Serves six to eight.
Use high-solids potatoes. Scrub potatoes
and grease lightly. Place potatoes in preheated,
moderately hot (400° F.) oven. Bake for approximately one hour, or until soft when
pressed. Remove from oven and make crisscrosses in jacket with fork. Press ends and
sides to fluff. Serve with butter or one of the
following toppings:
(1) Sour cream blended with cream cheese
and roquefort or bleu cheese.
(2) Sour cream sprinkled with minced chives.
(3) Whipped butter.
(4) Butter or sour cream sprinkled with
crisp bacon bits.
(5) Butter and shredded sharp cheddar
cheese or a heaping spoonful of cheese
spread. Return to broiler until cheesebutter topping is soft and bubbly.
Use high-solids potatoes. Wrap scrubbed potatoes in heavy-duty foil (or in double thickness of regular foil). Place directly in coals
and bake one hour, turning occasionally. Take
out of coals and cut a cross through the foil
and top of each potato. Fluff by pressing. Take
care to protect hands from burns—use a folded
cloth or heavy mitt. Turn the foil back and add
your favorite topping.
low-solids potatoes
Picnic Basket Special
Use low-solids potatoes
4 cups cubed, cold, boiled potatoes
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
i teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
i cup French dressing
i cup cooked salad dressing or mayonnaise
2 hard cooked eggs
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon celery seeds
Sprinkle potatoes and onions with salt and
pepper and mix lightly with French dressing.
Chill an hour or so. Toss lightly with mayonnaise and blend in cut-up eggs, chopped celery
and celery seeds. Garnish with fresh tomato
wedges and cucumber sticks. Refrigerate. Serves
eight.
Kabobs
Saucy Scalloped Potatoes
Use low-solids potatoes
4 cups thinly sliced, pared, raw potatoes
i cup minced onion
4 cup chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon salt
i teaspoon paprika
1 can condensed cream of mushroom or
cream of celery soup
1 cup milk
In large casserole, place alternate layers of
potatoes, green pepper and onion. Sprinkle each
layer with seasonings. Mix soup with milk and
pour over all. Bake 1 hour, covered, in moderate (350° F.) oven. Serves eight.
Alternate chunks of tender, fast-cooking
meat and cubes of precooked potato with
bacon, onion, tomato, pineapple, mushrooms,
precooked ham, or other combination according
to taste. Meat may be marinated overnight in a
tangy sauce. Baste kabobs during grilling, using
melted butter or barbecue sauce.
Marinade and barbecue sauce :
1 cup catsup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
i teaspoon dry mustard
i teaspoon Tabasco sauce
i teaspoon chili powder
i teaspoon garlic powder
Combine ingredients and heat to boiling.
sue jotner
andrea mackey
science in cookiing
potatoes
circular of information 600
agricultural experiment station
Oregon state college
corvallis
february I960
science
in cooki ng
potatoes
Potatoes of the future may come to market labeled to show how they
should be cooked—baked, boiled, or fried.
While certain varieties of potatoes look much alike from the outside,
research shows they differ in interior texture. Some are mealy, others waxy.
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Mealy potatoes are delicious when baked, mashed, or french fried.
They are light, fluffy, and separate easily into smooth, glistening particles
when broken with a fork. But if mealy potatoes are boiled they may slough
off, break up, and be soft on the outside while still hard at the center.
Waxy potatoes are best when boiled. They retain their shape and are
excellent served whole, sliced for salads, or cooked in casseroles.
Scientists have developed a simple way to determine
whether potatoes are mealy or waxy.
Dissolve 1 cup table salt in 11 cups water and immerse the
potato. If it floats it has "low solids content" and is best for
boiling or use in casseroles and salads. If it sinks it has "high
solids content" and will be best baked or mashed.
This test works because all potatoes, containing as they do,
starch, protein, cellulose, pectin, and other "solids" will sink in
plain water. But in a salt solution potatoes with a low starch and
solids content will float—while those with a high starch content
will sink.
This same solids content determines texture of the potatoes when they are cooked. Low solids floaters have a waxy
texture, and high solids sinkers have a mealy, light, fluffy
texture.
The Russet Burbank—also known as Netted Gem—is the
variety found most frequently in Oregon markets. These potatoes are successfully stored for many months and may be purchased not only in October, during harvest, but as late as June.
Russet Burbanks have a well-earned reputation for high
pOtatO pointers
quality. They usually tend to have a high solids content, and
are deliciously mealy and fluffy when baked or mashed. Waxy,
low solids potatoes are also found in this popular variety. Russet
Burbanks from farms in Central and Southern Oregon were
tested for two years to determine relative solids content. About
one-third of those tested proved to be low solids potatoes. This
proportion will differ from year to year, as each crop will have
certain individual characteristics.
Homemakers often prefer to boil potatoes, but frequently
find that some break up during cooking. This is because of the
high solids content of so many potatoes in the crop.
In harvest season, cells of Russet Burbank potatoes are
thick and starchy, so bits of tissue are more apt to slough off
when the potatoes are boiled. During storage, part of the starch
is gradually used by the potato—in plant metabolism—so cells
tend to stick together.
Today potatoes sold commercially aren't divided according
to solids content. But when practical methods of using the salt
solution test are developed, packers will be able to classify each
potato for its best use.
for homemakers
• Potatoes—whether low or high solids—are high in food value. They
contain Vitamin C, certain of the B vitamins—thiamine and niacin—and
the minerals, iron, phosphorous, and potassium.
• One pound of potatoes, cut up and diced, will yield three to four
average servings. So potatoes are a source of nutritious, inexpensive food.
• Potatoes are not fattening. One medium Russet Burbank contains
about 100 calories—the same as a large apple or orange.
• Potatoes are perishable and should be handled gently. They keep
best in a dark, cool place.
• Potatoes retain most food value if cooked in their jackets. As little
writer as possible should be used when potatoes are boiled. Many of the
food nutrients found in potatoes are just under the skin, so peelings should
be thin.
Cookbooks of the future may give the homemaker additional help by
specifying high or low solids potatoes in recipes. Till then, OSC home economists have developed recipes designed especially for low and high solids
potatoes.